He can still hear the planes, bullets Local Pearl Harbor survivor shares how he made it through 'day of infamy'

Friday

Dec 7, 2012 at 3:15 AMDec 7, 2012 at 9:10 AM

By Oliver Jenkinsojenkins@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — Although the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred 71 years ago today, Roland “Sammy” Dagan can still hear the planes and bullets flying by as if it was yesterday.

“It was a clear day, it was a beautiful day,” Dagan said while reflecting on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. “But then we were all looking for cover. We were just trying to stay safe.”

Dagan, a South Berwick, Maine, native and current resident of Rochester, was serving in the Army Air Corps as a welder at Hickam Field — an Air Force base adjacent to Pearl Harbor — when the first wave of Japanese fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes began their relentless assault on the area.

“We were watching the bullets fly all over the place at Pearl Harbor when the attack started,” Dagan said. “But before we knew it they were coming our way and dropping bombs — that's when we started running.”

To avoid the incoming bullets and shrapnel, Dagan said he initially climbed under a big trailer and laid there for a brief period. However, he later realized the paint shop just yards away from him was on fire, and, fearing it might explode, quickly fled the area.

“I ended up on the runway with all the planes,” he explained. “I just kept on slowly creeping up until I got to the hospital.”

And although this hospital had only recently been constructed and wasn't even open, the building still served as a makeshift emergency center, an area where those wounded in the attack were able to receive temporary treatment before being rushed to the island's main hospital in Honolulu.

“There were a lot of guys who were badly wounded. Some were dying, others had sheets over them,” he said, slowly trailing off. “I had shrapnel wounds on my arms and legs. I don't know what hit me because they were dropping bombs all over the place, but something did.”

And despite his injuries, Dagan said he's extremely lucky to be alive today — thanks in large part to a paperwork gaffe.

As Dagan explained Thursday at his home in Rochester, he originally signed up to be a welder on Wake Island, a small coral atoll located roughly two-thirds of the way between Honolulu and Guam. The island, which is under the administration of the U.S. Air Force, was advertising for welders at the time.

“I took the welders test in Honolulu and passed the test,” Dagan said. “I put all the paperwork through. Everyone ended up signing the paperwork for me to go to Wake Island — except for the general. I still don't know why he didn't sign it ... but it saved my life.”

Wake Island, Dagan recalled, was “hit very bad” by the Japanese during the infamous attack. “It was lucky,” he said of the paperwork holdup. “I ended up coming out of it all right.”

And an original newspaper clipping furnished by Dagan showcased the anxiety the community — especially his parents — felt in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Dagan of 19 Norton Street, South Berwick, received the following message Thursday morning, December 11, at five o'clock, from Adjutant General Adams of Washington,” the Dec. 18, 1941, edition of the Somersworth Free Press states. “The Secretary of War wishes to express his deepest regrets that your son, Private Charles Roland Dagan, was wounded in action in defense of his country, in Hawaii on Sunday, December 7.”

The paper goes on to say Dagan was a graduate of Central School, attended St. Michael's School, and later went to Berwick Academy. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on Sept. 24, 1940.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dagan remained hospitalized for several weeks as he recovered from his wounds. He stayed with the Army Air Corps until 1945, at which point he left the palm trees and clear waters of Hawaii to return home to a colder New England climate.

Dagan, who turned 93 last month, recently married his wife, Althea, in April. At their home in Rochester on Thursday, they pored over old photo albums and newspaper clippings taken during the attack on Pearl Harbor and his five-year residency on the island.

“I had so many experiences and I had so many close calls,” said Dagan, who later earned the highly acclaimed Purple Heart following the attack on Pearl Harbor. “A lot went through my mind that morning. We just didn't know what was going to happen next.”

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